The Somerville Pioneers took their first loss of the season in the Group 3 semifinals, rallying from a 28-14 second half deficit to send the game to overtime, but they fell 36-35 in overtime to Mainland. Somerville finishes the season at 12-1, Central Jersey Group 3 champions.
Click below to listen to Mike Pavlichko and Nick Kosko call all the play-by-play live from Brooks Field in Somerville on November 22, 2024:
Somerville didn’t lead all night until overtime, and it looked like the Pioneers and visiting Mainland were headed for a second OT period, as the Mustangs pulled within one on a seven-yard touchdown run by Rocco DiBiaso, and lined up for the PAT.
But Chuck Smith called timeout, and set up for two. Quarterback John Franchini found top receiver Jake Blum just across the goal line near the pylon for two, setting off a raucous celebration, and leaving Somerville’s players emotionally spent on the turf.
In the end, it was a 36-35 loss for the Pioneers as heard on Central Jersey Sports Radio that ended what otherwise was an amazing season: 12-0 after winning the Central Jersey Group 3 title over Delsea last week, and the first Somerset County team to reach the group semifinals since the playoffs expanded to play down to group champions for the first time in 2022.
Somerville’s season ends at 12-1 – with a lot to look back on – after the sting from this one dissipates.
Mainland – last year’s Group 4 champion, now playing in Group 3 – improves to 10-3 and will get a crack at back-to-back state titles next weekend when they play Old Tappan, a 43-14 winner Friday night in the other semifinal. That game likely would be either Black Friday at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands, or Sunday, December first at Rutgers. The NJSIAA will announce dates and times after all this weekend’s games are complete.
Somerville played catchup all game, but was right in the thick of a back-and-forth game with a lot of momentum swings. Rocco DiBiaso led off the scoring on Mainland’s first possession, after they held Somerville on the Pioneers’ first.
With a 7-0 lead heading into the second, both offenses heated up on a night where the temperature hovered around 37 the entire evening, with snow falling before kickoff and well into the first half.
Josh Rodriguez scored on a three-yard run out of the wildcat less than two minutes into the second quarter to knot the game at seven. Mainland answered with a touchdown run by Franchini, but Rodriguez caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Brenden Pacheco to tie it at 14-14. Franchini then found Blum for a 42-yard touchdown strike 2:18 before the half, and the teams went into the break with Mainland up 21-14.
They would strike again early in the fourth, after a scoreless third quarter. Rocco DiBiaso scored from 14 yards out to make it 28-14 with 10:46 to play, but Somerville came back.
Terrell Mitchell capped a five-play, 56-yard drive with a 22-yard touchdown run, and Max Nuzzi caught a ten-yard TD pass from Pacheco with 1:36 to go to tie it at 28.
They tried a squib kick that was recovered by Mainland, but there was a penalty on the play, and they kicked again. But eventually, the clock ran out on the Mustangs, and they headed to overtime.
Somerville struck first, taking just four plays to get a four-yard touchdown run by Pacheco, giving the Pioneers their first lead of the game. Spencer Carran – 4-for-4 on PATs – missed the extra point, but he got another chance after a roughing the kicker penalty, and made good, to make it 35-28.
It took only three plays for Rocco DiBiaso to score from seven yards out, setting up the heroics from Franchini and Blum to win the game.
Somerville quarterback Brendan Pacheco played a stellar game, throwing for 202 yards and three scores
Click below to hear Mike Pavlichko of Central Jersey Sports Radio with Somerville head coach Matt Bloom:
Group 3 Finals:
When: Friday, 7 pm
Where: Brooks Field, Somerville
Matchup: Mainland (9-3, South 3 champions) at Somerville (12-0, Central 3 champions)
Coverage: LISTEN LIVE on cjsportsradio.com (Mike Pavlichko, Nick Kosko)
Weather: 37 degrees, clear, 84% chance of rain, wind South 4 mph (from scoreboard end of stadium, end zone to end zone)
HEAD COACHES:
Somerville: Matt Bloom (2nd full season season, 19-6)
Delsea: Chuck Smith (9th season, 59-37)
HOW THEY GOT HERE:
Somerville:
First Round: def. #8 Absegami, 40-0
Semifinals: def. #4 Ocean City, 30-14
Central Jersey Group 3 Final: def. #7 Delsea, 24-6
Delsea:
First Round: def. #2 Burlington Twp., 29-12
Semifinals: def. #3 Cedar Creek, 28-14
South Jersey Group 3 Final: def. #4 Seneca, 42-14
Who’s next? The winner of this game will play the winner of the other Group 3 semifinal between North 2 winner Old Tappan (10-1) and North 1 winner Pascack Valley. That game also is Friday night, but starts an hour earlier, at 6 pm. The title game could be any one of a number of dates after Thanksgiving at either Rutgers University’s SHI Stadium in Piscataway, or at MetLife Stadium up at the Meadowlands.
SERIES HISTORY:
Despite playing varsity football since 1903, Somerville’s history with South Jersey teams is pretty thin. Last week’s Central Jersey Group 3 title game against Delsea was the first time those two teams had met.
This will be the first meeting between the Pioneers and Mainland. In fact, of the four playoff teams they’ve played already and will play Friday, Absegami is the only one Somerville played before, beating the Braves 37-7 in the South Group 3 first round in 2019, before falling to Woodrow Wilson in the title game two weeks later.
PREVIEWS:
FINALS HISTORY:
Somerville:
Friday’s title win over Delsea in the Central Jersey Group 3 Final continues their long and storied playoff history; it was the Pioneers’ ninth sectional title in their 16th appearance – both Somerset County records.
They won their first championship in 1976, then won two more more in 1977 and 1979. After the Kevin Carty era in the 1990s – which saw them win the title over Manasquan in 1994 – there was a big downturn, but the program was rejuvenated by Jeff Vanderbeek, who delivered the Pioneers’ eighth and most recent title before this season’s in 2017, topping Rumson-Fair Haven at Rutgers. They went to two finals in between, losing both times: in 2018 to Rumson again, and in 2019 down at Woodrow Wilson, now Camden Eastside.
Playoff Berths: 30
Playoff Record: 35-20
Finals Berths: 16
Sectional Titles: 9
Central Group 2
1976: #1 Somerville 27 def. #2 Red Bank 6
Central Group 3
1977: #3 Somerville def. #1 Hightstown, 28-6
1979: #1 Somerville def. #2 Manasquan, 27-14
1981: #2 Ewing def. #4 Somerville, 21-18 (OT)
Central Group 2
1983: #1 Somerville def. #3 West Windsor, 30-6
1984: #1 Asbury Park def. #2 Somerville, 16-0
1985: #2 Somerville def. #1 Freehold Boro, 27-25
1986: #1 Somerville def. #2 Manasquan, 10-0
1990: #1 Manasquan def. #2 Somerville, 35-0
1994: #2 Somerville def. #4 Manasquan, 21-14 (Giants Stadium)
1999: #1 Manasquan def. #2 Somerville, 26-19
2000: #2 Manasquan def. #1 Somerville, 7-3
Central Group 3:
2017: #2 Somerville def. #1 Rumson-Fair Haven, 20-15 (at Rutgers)
2018: #2 Rumson-Fair Haven def. #1 Somerville, 42-35
South Group 3:
2019: #1 Woodrow Wilson def. #2 Somerville, 54-30
Central Group 3:
2024: #1 Somerville def. #7 Delsea, 24-6
Mainland:
The Mustangs playoff history has been somewhat streaky. They’ve been to the playoffs 23 times, with a 32-14 record. They’ve won eight titles in just ten tries, making them 8-2 in sectional title games.
Some of those titles have come in bunches. Their first came in 1980, and while they didn’t win another for 16 years, they won back-to-back in 1996 and 1997, and made it to the 199 final, losing to Ocean City. They won another in 2002, then went to consecutive finals in 2007 and 2008 – winning in the second of those trips – before going on another long drought of 14 years without a finals berth.
Chuck Smith arrived on the scene in 2016, and in year seven got the Mustangs back to the finals, winning Central 4 in 2022, South 4 in 2023 and South 3 this year. They reached the group semi stage in 2022, and won all of Group 4 last season.
Playoff Berths: 23
Playoff Record: 32-14
Finals Berths: 10
Sectional Titles: 8
South Group 3:
1980: #4 Mainland def. #2 Overbrook, 15-12
1996: #2 Mainland def. #1 Pennsauken, 14-7
1997: #1 Mainland beat #3 Toms River South, 21-7
1999: #6 Ocean City def. #1 Mainland, 21-18
2002: #3 Mainland def. #1 Delsea, 21-7
South Group 4:
2007: #1 Toms River North def. #3 Mainland, 22-19
2008: #1 Mainland def. #6 Southern, 21-14
Central Group 3:
2022: #3 Mainland beat #1 Middletown South, 34-24 (
2023: #2 Mainland beat #1 Millville, 35-13 (Mainland def. Winslow, 41-0, in Group 4 semifinals) (Mainland def. Ramapo, 56-0, in Group 4 Championship Game at Rutgers, finished 14-0)
2024: #2 Mainland def. #4 Seneca, 42-14
2024 SOMERVILLE COVERAGE:
STAT LEADERS:
Somerville
Mainland
NEWS & NOTES:
Offense/Defense…
This year’s Somerville football team is putting a lot of points on the board, and not giving up many at all. At 12-0, they have scored 415 points for an average of 34.6 per game. On defense, they have pitched three shutouts, holding eight opponents to fewer than ten points – including Delsea last week – allowing a total of 98 points, edging their average down to 8.2 allowed per game.
How does that compare to the more recent Somerville success? The 2016 squad that lost in the sectional semifinals to Rumson scored 46.7 per game overall, allowing 16.2. The 2017 title team scored 39.8 overall, and allowed 20.2, the fewest points they scored and most they allowed per game in the four-year run that saw The ‘Ville go 43-4 over four seasons, reaching three sectional finals.
But the 8.4 points allowed a game is not a record. It’s only the best since Kevin Carty was head coach in 2004. That team lost in the opening round of the Central Group 2 playoffs to Carteret, 28-8, but only allowed 72 points all year for a 7.2 points per game average. Take out the playoff loss, and they allowed just 4.9 a game during the regular season. This squad allowed 8.6 per game in the regular season.
Disciplined vs. Delsea …
Somerville knew it would be in for a stiff test last week with Delsea, which re-installed its Wing-T in the middle of the season.
Surprisingly, the Crusaders – with a methodical offense, not built to come from behind – won the opening toss, but deferred to the second half, giving the Pioneers the ball first. And when they scored, it left Delsea playing from behind.
They answered on their first possession with an 89-yard scoring drive to even the game up at 6-6, but they wouldn’t manage that many yards the entire rest of the game, as Somerville’s defense locked down.
Undefeated, but more to play…
Since the playoffs expanded to eight teams per section in 1998, there have been seven state sectional title winners from Somerset County. (Middlesex has had 28 in that time period.) Five of them won titles undefeated. That includes Hillsborough in 2021 (13-0), Ridge in 2013 (12-0), Immaculata in 2006 (12-0), and of course, the Pioneers this year, 12-0. But unlike two of those other teams, the road does not end here.
Wait, where’s the fourth?
Well, Ridge and Immaculata finished their seasons undefeated. Hillsborough played one more game, the South 5 Regional Championship, and beat Kingsway to establish a new Somerset County record for wins with 13. Bernards also was undefeated when the Mountaineers won their title last year, but they finished with a loss in the Group 2 semifinals to Westwood.
Two teams won in 1987, but while Franklin beat West Windsor for the Central 3 title, Ridge’s Central 2 title was “declared,” as no other teams qualified in that section. (Teams had to be .500 by the Cutoff to qualify.)
The Mainland football program has had a really great last three years, winning sectional titles the last two in Group 4 – including last year’s state Group 4 championship – but the groundwork was laid way back.
That’s the assessment of Chuck Smith, now in his ninth year with the Mustangs, as they head north Friday to continue their stellar playoff run.
Mainland (9-3) will visit Somerville (12-0) Friday in the Group 3 semifinals, a game you can hear on Central Jersey Sports Radio as our “Big Central Game of the Week” presented by Bellamy & Son Paving. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Kosko will call all the action; click here to listen.
No doubt, they will be a challenge for Somerville, which dropped Delsea 24-6 last Friday night at Brooks Field in the Central Jersey Group 3 title game. The Crusaders ran the Wing-T, but only threw the ball once against the Pioneers.
Mainland runs the Wing-T also, but boy do they throw it.
Junior quarterback John Franchini has thrown for 1,914 yards and 19 touchdowns this season, but Smith says he’s more than taken control of the offense. He’s taken a huge leadership role with the group, and that’s paid dividends.
Smith says the Mustangs are “runningback by committee.” They’re really “runningback by the DiBiaso family,” as senior Rocco leads the team with 913 rushing yards, while sophomore Lucas is tops on the team with 8.4 yards per carry, and a grand total of 439 rushing yards in his own right.
Defensively, they are led by junior linebacker Chase Hoag with team highs of 101 tackles and 20 tackles for loss, along with disruptive defensive end Matt Muits, who’s got a team-best nine sacks to his credit, and nine TFLs.
Click below to hear Mainland Coach Chuck Smith talk with Central Jersey Sports Radio’s Mike Pavlichko about Friday’s Group 3 semifinal at Somerville:
Dominant all season long?
Check.
But can they defend the Wing-T?
Check, again.
This week presents another new challenge for the newest Central Jersey Group 3 champions, as Somerville (12-0) entertains Mainland (9-3) in the Group 3 semifinals, with a trip to the state title game on the line.
The Mustangs are the South Group 3 champs, and sectional champs for a third straight year, beating Millville in the South 4 title game last year, and Middletown South for the Central 4 crown in 2022.
They run the Wing-T, but it’s different than Delsea, which was one-dimensional last week against the Pioneers. They ran for all 89 yards on their first possession, a scoring drive to tie the game at six, but didn’t gain that many yards the rest of the game, throwing just one pass.
That won’t be the case with Mainland, which likes to throw the ball in the same offensive scheme. Junior quarterback Jake Franchini, though, has thrown ten interceptions this season against 19 touchdowns, while throwing for nearly 2,000 yards.
Last week, Somerville’s 14 picks weren’t of much use against the Crusaders. They could come in handy against Mainland.
You can hear Friday night;s game from Brooks Field live – and for free – on Central Jersey Sports Radio. Pregame for our Bellamy & Son Paving “Big Central Game of the Week” will start at 6:45, with kickoff at 7. Mike Pavlichko and Nick Kosko will call all the action. Click here to listen.
Somerville, of course, has a lot of speed. But it’s not just how fast they can run, it’s how fast they can run the offense, barely allowing opposing defenses time to breathe. That’ll be the biggest challenge for Mainland.
Click below to hear Somerville head coach Matt Bloom talk about the Pioneers’ Group 3 semifinal Friday night against Mainland:
